Virtual Reality
by Reimei-Jennoir
Summary: A new character comes to town and she is Eclipse Hayi- the Knuckle master! Her adventure starts along with her companion-none other than- HASEO! Haseo.X.OC with hints of Azure Kite.X.OC in the later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**" VIRTUAL REALITY"**

**CHAPTER 1-**

The skies shone as if it were gold itself. The hill overlooking the small town became visible through the bridge that connected them. Slowly, Haseo shifted on the grass below the single tree of the hill. He sat up abruptly as a breeze passed by. He closed his red-tinted eyes and gave a grunt. After what happened during his fight with the Infamous Azure Kite, he had to start over again. He looked up and started thinking. What if Shino's character could be reformatted, just like what happened to his, and could be wandering around the game without him knowing?

Impossible.

His character was only reformatted because of that cursed Data Drain ability of Kite.

Even after repeating the word 'Imposible' in his mind a few times, he still had a slight feeling that maybe...she's here.

He tightened his grip on the grass below him and pulled out some of them. The wind immediately blew it out of his grasp once he opened his palm. He sighed and tucked a strand of his silver hair behind his ear and stood up. Maybe if he went to the Hulle Granz Cathedral, he may be able to find her there.

Once again, Impossible.

He was making his way back to the bridge when something caught his eye. He turned back, drew out his Twin Blades, and posed ready to strike on whoever might catch him off guard and attack. Instead, he found a blonde haired girl sitting on a branch of the tree he was just on. Her red-tinted orbs were staring at the skies, as if on a daze. Haseo walked over to her and kicked the tree trunk. Leaves shook and some fell on the ground. She feel to the ground as well. Surprised, she turned to him, " What was that for?" She asked, irked.

" What were you doing there?" He was determined to ignore her questions and fire back one of his own. But it seems that the girl was also thinking the same thing.

" WHAT was THAT for?" This time, she stood up and dusted her back from the fall, " And WHO are YOU to start with?"

Haseo huffed, "I should be asking the same thing. How long have you been there? And if you're gonna PK me, think again." The girl eyed on him suspiciously, and he did the same.

" You know what?" She started as she turned, " I'm leaving~!"

Not much of a surprise for him. He turned as well, this time towards the bridge where he could have a nice chat with Phyllo once more. Strangely enough, he found himself turning his head to eye on the -probably- newbie. She just stood there, her back against him, one hand on the trunk of the tree. As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned. He froze and snapped back to the path he was heading on.

" W-wait~!" She cried, catching his attention.

" What?" He asked sharply, not bothering to look at her.

" Sup! I'm Eclipse-a newbie." She said, lowering her voice at the last word.

Haseo snickered at that. Something like denial to her.

" Umm..." She started again, this time hiding behind him.

" Umm what?" Still not turning.

She inhaled, then exhaled. Haseo sensed that this was a tight matter to her, so he turned, just in time to hear her speak, " Could you help me?" She said in the highest tone of courage she could muster. After all, they just met. He kicked her out of a tree and she fired questions at him. Not the kind of friendly meeting people would expect. But here she is, asking help to the 'kicker'.

" On what?" Haseo returned the question.

Eclipse, who had that shy expression just now, suddenly snapped, " Don't you 'On what' me! It's standard for games to have nice people who would help newbies!" She cried. Haseo gave a confused look, " Just what games have you been playing?" He asked.

She smiled at the question, "Trickster Online." (LOLZ! I MISS TRICKSTER ONLINE!) Haseo looked at her as if she was an alien, "Well this ain't Trickster Online. You should know that." He said. Eclipse nodded, "So will you help me?"

Haseo took a second to hesitate and think. Right now, he was experienced despite his low level. She had a lower level than him though. So what's the harm? He weighed his disadvantages and advantages for helping this girl.

Advantages: - They can go on exploring. She could lead him around the world...and who knows! Maybe meet Shino again.

Disadvantages: - Saving her butt when she gets PKed. Yeah, what a drag...

Well, the odds are 50 to 50. He'd help.

" Okay then," He finally replied. This is what Shino would do. Yeah. Might as well live up to what she taught him.

Eclipse gave a loud cry, " YEAH!" She pumped her fists on the air. And that's the only time Haseo noticed her job. She didn't have a weapon on her side. No sword, so she's not a Blademaster. No daggers, so she's not a Twin Blade. Maybe she's a Wavemaster, like Shino, who only draws out her staff in battle. Yeah, that must be it. But he decided to question her, " What class are you?"

She turned to him, "Oh...I'm a Knuckle Master!" She replied too immediately, " And you are...?"

Deciding that maybe she'll be asking that along the way repeatedly, he replied, " Haseo. I'm an Adept Rogue" And so, he lead her to town.

That's also the time he noticed her appearance. Despite her bright blond hair and red-tinted eyes, she wore dark clothes. Nearly the same style as him, though. Eclipse wore a revealing black outfit, showing her midrif, arms and legs. She had a gray and black tube top under her black jacket that ends on her shoulder, revealing her arms. She wore a black skirt with tight black shorts that reaches to her knees. Her black, high-heeled, metal boots had gold rings near the bottom and she also wore metal gloves which also had large rings around her wrist.

They entered the Root Town Mac Anu and looked around.

" Where do you wanna start?" Haseo asked, turning a bit to hear the reply of the new girl through the noise of the marketplace.

" Hmmm..." She hummed and looked around, " I dunno..."

Haseo gave a grunt, "How am I suppose to help you when you don't ask for help on SOMETHING?" He retorted. Eclipse eyed on him, " Fine. Let's level then." She said. Haseo, hearing this, lightened up. Yeah, leveling and destroying the mobs are his favorite part of the game. Too bad they had to find mobs suitable for her starting level...which is 1.

Wait.

He's also at his starting level. Oh great! Just freakin great!

**TBC~~~~~~~~~~**

**COMMENT PLEASE!**

I dont own .hack/Roots or any of its characters. I can only dream *drools*


	2. Chapter 2

Virtual Reality ch.2

Haseo led her into the fields where level 1 creatures resided. Immediately, he headed for one that was nearby, which was a rat-like creature whose name he doesn't bother to check. He was gonna destroy them anyways. After that, he turned to check on Eclipse. She seemed to be handling herself pretty well. After a couple more punches to her current enemy, she turned to see another one heading straight at her. He could hear the metal of her gloves hitting the data flesh of the rat enemy. He moved back to his new target and started once more.

The sun had already set and night time came in. Eclipse stopped and looked at her surroundings. Everything became darker, except for the part where the fireflies are on, which was near the pond downhill. She started liking the background music for the night. It was really soothing. She looked at Haseo, who was rounding up a group of the rat-enemies and attempting to finish them all simultaneously.

" Haseo, " She started, raising her voice, " Are you logging out already after this?"

He turned his head slightly, still fighting though. She managed to hear his reply through the squeaking noises made by the dying rats, " Maybe." He said, " What about you?"

Eclipse stood there, hesitating and crossed her arms. Haseo didn't hear anything for a while, making the background music their silence. And then, " Do you want me to?"

At hearing this reply, he suddenly tensed. The rat-enemies took this opportunity to attack him as a group, taking him down and scrunching up to have their share of the kill. Eclipse stopped them though, whipping her fists at them and crying out, " Laceration Beat!" Haseo didn't see the rest. She moved pretty fast, even though she was still a low level. Then, she turned at him and knelt down beside him, " Sorry about that..." She whispered and helped him get up.

He didn't tolerate this. He pushed her arms away and stood up, " Why would you ask me that?...Geez..." She started giggling. He glared at her, but she didn't get the note, " I didn't know you'd react that way anyways!" More giggling.

After a while, it became quiet once more. They listened to the computer frogs' croaking and the suitable background music. A night breeze blew across the field, sending chills down Haseo's spine. Out of the blue, " Yeah."

He snapped his head to Eclipse, who smiled back at him, " I'm gonna stay here for a while. " She said. He rolled his eyes at her. She didn't notice it though, and continued talking, " I want to see the game during night time...Can I come with you then?"

" Ngghhh...Fine.." He walked ahead of her as they headed towards Mac Anu. Eclipse's breath quickened as the sight of the night time Root Town. Nothing could describe the scenery she was facing right now. She hurried to the entrance and turned to Haseo, " Hurry it up slow poke!" She yelled through the crowd gathering around her, which made Haseo mad. Right, slow poke. Well actually, compared to her, he is slow when it comes to fighting. She was at a higher rank than him in speed. But not in power.

He hurried up and caught up with her as they entered. He had to admit though, the town was actually really...beautiful. During his killing spree as the "Terror of Death" and looking for Tri-Edge, he hadn't come into this town for a while. He was busy. But now that he's back, he was actually...appreciating it. Something that he didn't want to do because it's what he said and believed in.

Yeah, what he said to Atoli when she gave her opinion. which made him mad.

And what he believed in ever since he came to this game.

Suddenly, he turned. Eclipse wasn't there, nor was she ahead of him. Two options came to his mind. One, he could look for her. And two, he could happily rejoice for her sudden disappearance. But there was something stronger than his evil first option that made him follow the second. He began searching the crowd, often times bumping into people who quietly cursed at him for that.

Then, on the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the gold blur. He immediately ran towards it and saw her standing there, waving at people she doesn't even know.

" You...!" He started angrily, " Don't suddenly run off like that!"

She smiled, " Sorry! I was just so excited about the awesome graphics!" He rolled his eyes at this, " What so great about graphics?" He eyed on her and noticed that she was busy smiling at passersby, " Wait..What are you doing?"

" Doing a job." She replied, smiling and waving at a random dude.

" Job..." He tapped his temples, " JOB?"

"Yeah, a JOB." This time, it was her turn to roll her eyes at him, " Well, if you don't know what a job is, it's your problem. But anyways, I took this job to earn a few cash..."

Haseo suddenly turned. He heard his name being called and after a while, Silabus came out from the crowd and smiled, " Yo!" He cried and held his hand to his forehead. He responded with a grunt. Silabus continued, " I was looking for the rest of the members, but none of them seemed to be online. And then you were there, so I went looking for-" He stopped short when he noticed Haseo's attention on the blonde girl greeting people passing by.

He smiled to himself and went over to greet the girl, " Hello," He said. She looked at him and smiled as well, " Hello to you too sir!"

" I'm Silabus, the former guild master of the Canard guild, which is now under Haseo's command.." He started.

" I didn't know Haseo owns a guild.." She pouted. He smiled and continued, " Well, I see that you're new here. Actually, the Canard Guild is here to help newbies. Is Haseo helping you?"

" Actually, yes." She replied, " He helped me level a bit and showed me around town."

Haseo grunted once more. Silabus looked at him and then to the girl. An idea came into his mind, " Why don't you join our guild then?" The girl stopped, hesitated and bursted out her smile, " OH YES! PLEASE, CAN I?"

" Can she, guild master Haseo?"

" It's a yes then!"

She leaped in joy then said, " I'm Eclipse! It's nice to be part of your guild!"

TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

Virtual Reality ch.3 by ~miacachan

Silabus was ahead of the group as they entered the Home of the Canard guild. When they got into the living room, Eclipse saw a short, round, pink-furred, dog-like character, wearing magician's robes sitting on the couch. Immediately, she headed to him and bent over the couch to look at him, " Hi, there!" She cooed. The one on the couch stared at her, then to Silabus who was near the door. Silabus smiled.

" Hey," The dog-like character replied, " You must be a new member, I'm Gaspard!" Gaspard, held out his hand for her to shake, and she did. She gave another smile, " I'm Eclipse. And yeah, I'm a new member!"

Haseo turned as Atoli suddenly came in with a chim chim. He paused, turned and headed for the opposite couch from the door. He wouldn't want to step on that new one that she found, even though he really felt like it. Eclipse was now sitting beside Gaspard and was having a really fast conversation with him. Atoli went up to Silabus, probably because of a question about Eclipse. After a while of observing Eclipse, Atoli walked over to them, " Hello," She said.

Eclipse looked at her and replied, " Hi, I'm Eclipse! Nice to meet you~" She stood up and formally bowed to her. Atoli bowed as well, " I'm Atoli. It's also nice to meet you." Then, she held out that cursed chim chim that Haseo most likely might have attacked, " And this is chim chim!"

Haseo groaned as he watched Eclipse and Atoli get over excited over that four-legged purple creature that looks like manure. That's right, manure. Silabus walked over and sat down beside him.

" She gets along well with them..." He whispered, looking at Haseo's reaction from the corner of his eye. As expected, he got irritated, " Like I care," He replied," Geez...you just had to bring her into the guild."

" Why not? I mean we only have 4 members," He pointed out, " It's not like you'd be tired watching over us!" He smiled.

Haseo wouldn't stop grumbling after that. Silabus headed out and Atoli had to log off for the day. Gaspard, who was still talking to Eclipse, noticed Haseo eyeing on them intently. So he decided to ask, " What's wrong Haseo?"

" Can you two log out now?" He asked, obviously irritated, " As in NOW."

Gaspard pouted, making Eclipse giggle at the sight of the puppy-like eyes he was showing, but instead, he agreed, "Well then, looks like I'm off!" He turned and smiled to Eclipse, " Are you going off as well?" She hesitated to respond for a while until she replied," Maybe later. I'll go around town for a while," She stood up and was heading for the door when Gaspard hurried to catch up with her, " Wait!"

She turned, " Yeah?" He tugged on her arm for a bit, and she got the hint of leaning down and listening to his whispered words, " Be careful..." She blinked and said, " O-okay...of what exactly?" Gaspard didn't respond after that and just logged off. Eclipse stared and suddenly noticed Haseo with a raised brow on her.

" A-ah~ I'll be going outside then! " She waved and ran towards the door.

Haseo heard the echoes of her 'goodbye' through the corridor leading to the exit of the Home. He stretched on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. What did Gaspard just tell her just now that made her tense all of a sudden? He wondered for some possibilities. Maybe a meeting? Or a warning? Or a new song that a singer just published?

" Whatever it might be, " He thought out loud and stood up, " I'll find out."

Eclipse looked around the surrounding area filled with only trees. Slowly she held out her sharply-tipped knuckles in front of it and took breath, " I don't know how much time I might be able to get strong enough as the others," She whispered to nobody in particular, " But training helps doesn't it?"

She whipped out her hand at the tree, merely scratching it and leaving an inched mark. She cursed, " If they had level up guide here...it'd be easy for me to get a higher level..."

" Like before?"

" Yeah, like before..." She nodded.

Suddenly, it hit her. She snapped her head to the voice behind her. There was a man standing there between the trees and the large boulder covering her from anybody's view from the town. Slowly, she took her stance. One hand outstretched, showing her weapon and the other one, over it, and her legs slightly apart. The man gave a toothy grin and leaned onto the tree beside him, " Actually I agree with you. Everything would be easier but.. that's what this game is all about."

" Just who are you?" Eclipse asked, raising her tone, not moving from her stance, " You know what? Never mind! Just leave me be." She waved her hand around, emphasizing for him to leave.

But instead, the man stepped out from the shadows he was lurking on a while back and she could now see his character. He had blond hair with 2 red horns sticking out from both sides. He wore typical armored clothes that were richly decorated with the colors blue and silver. She eyed on the pouch on his right leg, holding a gun of some sort and then looked up to his face. Deep golden orbs stared back at her, as if pulling out some memories from the back of her mind. And then, she realized it.

" If it's hard to level, then it's fun right, Eclipse?"

TBC 


End file.
